1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of batting practice devices and, more particularly, to a sleeve which is placed on a conventional bat to train a person using the bat to contact a ball in the preferred hitting zone of the bat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Baseball, softball, and the like, are games involving hitting a ball with a bat. In order for a person to become proficient at hitting a ball with a bat, it is necessary for a player to practice making contact between the ball and the bat in order to develop the desired hand-eye coordination. To become proficient and hit the ball with the most power, a player must be able to swing the bat in a level manner through a given plane and hit the ball at a preferred hitting zone on the bat. When the ball is struck by the bat in this location, it will be projected in a straight line and travel the furthest distance possible from the batter. This area of the bat, which is on the face of the bat near the end, is frequently called the "sweet" part of the bat. It has been found that most of the power of the batter will be transferred to the ball if the ball contacts this spot on the bat, rather than merely glancing off the end or another portion of the bat.
It is thus desirable, especially for youngsters and amateur baseball players, to develop the hand-eye coordination to be able to line up this preferred part of the bat with the ball; and to develop this coordination, frequent practice is necessary. However, in order to practice with a standard bat and ball, it is usually necessary to have other players pitch and field the ball and to have a large field for the ball to travel. In order to measure one's success in properly hitting the ball with a standard ball and bat, a player must watch the distance and placement of the ball in the field.
Various practice aids have been developed to train players to focus on desirable techniques of their swing. One of these aids is a V-shaped sleeve, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,217, which is attached to a conventional bat; the bat is then used to strike a standard ball. This device, however, requires someone to retrieve the ball and, if a batting tee platform is not used, it also requires a pitcher.
A number of other prior art devices require specially constructed bats, including U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,945 (which has cushions to block out the "non-sweet" areas of the bat); U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,139 (which adapts the bat to add a hinged portion); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,772 (which calls for ball-shaped indentations in the bat). In most of these devices, the bat must be permanently adapted for training purposes and is no longer useful as a playing bat. Although one embodiment of Pat. No. 3,618,945 provides for removable sleeve portions to cushion the non-preferred zones of the bat, that device fails to provide for a means for capturing or retrieving the ball. U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,161 provides specialized catching and retrieving components in which the ball is retained temporarily by a surface of hook and loop fasteners on the bat before it is propelled back to the other player. This device, however, is not designed for experiencing the feel of swinging one's personal bat, or even a full-size bat, nor for developing an eye for a particular hitting zone on a conventional bat, nor is it useful for batting practice by oneself.
Thus, there has been a need, which has not been fulfilled by the prior art, for a baseball practice device which allows a player, and particularly a young player, to practice swinging a bat to develop precision in hitting a ball in the preferred hitting zone of the bat so that he or she will ultimately be able to drive the ball accurately and powerfully in a real game. There has been a need for a practice device which can be used with a conventional bat so that the true weight and feel of the bat is not changed. There is also a need for a batting device which allows the batter to practice in an enclosed or relatively small space without danger of injury to himself or others or damage to the surroundings, and one which additionally allows the batter to clearly and easily observe the results of his or her swing.
This invention provides a solution to these needs by providing a sleeve which can be removably attached to a conventional bat, and which has a catch means which can correspond to the "sweet" area of the bat. This sleeve allows a player to practice batting with a lightweight ball which can be either thrown by another player or mounted on a batting tee so that a batter can practice without any other participants. The sleeve provides means for capturing the ball where it was struck so that immediate visual observation is possible to determine whether a swing struck the ball in the preferred hitting zone or not.